The Villages, FL, is near Ocala, FL and Ocala, FL is where Don Garlits’ Museum is located, and now that my pal and I were living in The Villages, my partner thought he was going to be going there often; I understood why my partner had an affinity for Don Garlits’ Museum… He knew him when he was a young man, then my partner spent most of his summers on a motorcycle, always trying to chop a speed record.
- Don Garlits’ Museum is a museum filled with drag racing facts and cars.
He even has a part of his car that was involved in an accident and took off half his foot. It was what led to a need for rear motors in drag racing, then since my partner was a motorcycle drag racer, and he knew Don Garlits, he felt the need to know more and see his museum. He wanted to see cars and motorcycles, especially the first motorcycle to chop the 200 MPH speed limit, on a tepid Summer afternoon, he had me leave my air-conditioned condo and go to Don Garlits’ Museum with him. Some of it was interesting, but I was more interested in the air conditioner. I followed my partner around as he talked about the odor of the fuel and the evening being lit up by flames. He said the roar of the engines had him running to the track, and even if he was toiling on his bike, he walked away when he heard the roar. I got to see him race while in his last couple of years and help him with his motorcycle. I could understand why Don Garlits’ Museum was such a sizable draw for him.